Learning physics as a whole : On supporting students making sense of their studies

How do students in a university degree programme make sense of their situation, and how can we asteachers support them in seeing their learning as a whole in relation to their main subject physics?This question is discussed first in relation to an empirical investigation of students’ ways of makingsense of their study situation, and secondly draws on experience from two attempts to address is-sues emerging from that investigation. Based on the results we identify issues that potentially needaddressing in many science and engineering programmes that are organised around a set of coursesgiven by subject specialists and where students’ choices of courses are limited. These issues primarilyconcern the authority for learning, the development of a “physics knowledge object” as a programmegoal, and the risk that students ended up only focussing on features of the courses’ organisation togive meaning to their studies. Finally, we discuss ways to support students’ sense making, as a processof learning for the “college of teachers” in such programmes